But Dougie Wiggins, the point guard from East Hartford, Conn., can’t be summed up that simply. He’s neither of those things. And he’s both. And he’s so much more.

Wiggins is so talented that UConn stepped over the beleaguered Red Storm to land him, perception be damned, sources say.

The Big East Conference tournament begins on March 8, and this season’s ferocity – as the Wiggins saga proves – transcends the court.

Wiggins lives in a poor neighborhood where drug dealing is a way of life, he says, and addicts come and go at all hours. He wants a way out, and believes he’ll develop his game more at UConn than he would have at St. John’s.

Last March, Wiggins verbally committed to the Red Storm. After improving his stock during summer ball, he reneged on the commitment in October.

St. John’s was stunned, and then mortified a few days later when Wiggins signed a letter of intent with UConn. Coach Jim Calhoun – never a beloved member of the coaching fraternity – saw his likeability rating plummet.

UConn supporters claimed the 18-year-old contacted the school – not vice versa. But there are curiosities (and inconsistencies) in this twisted tale.

Whatever the facts, Wiggins took advantage of a flawed recruiting process for the sake of his own future. At least on his end, there are no hard feelings toward St. John’s.

“We still wear the T-shirts,” his mother, Charmaine, said.

“Yeah, around the house,” Wiggins made sure to point out.

Wiggins, by all accounts a nice kid with a 3.0 GPA, is likely to be Connecticut’s player of the year. He’s averaging 32 points and seven assists on a 19-1 team.

On Tuesday night at Manchester, Conn., Wiggins missed 13 of his first 20 shots before finishing with 39 points in a 74-68 victory. He poured in 17 points in the fourth quarter and finished 12 for 26.

“You saw him at his worst,” East Hartford coach Anthony Menard told a reporter.

“I’m embarrassed,” Wiggins said.

Although he’s a skinny 6-footer, his remarkable quickness and toughness in the lane give him the tools to be a top Division I talent. He’s a gunner with no conscience and deep range.

“We certainly see him as being a versatile combo guard who can step in and play right away for us,” said UConn assistant Tom Moore.

Wiggins called his recruitment “fun” and “exciting.” Tell that to St. John’s.

“I regret doing it in the timeframe I did it in,” he admitted. “I guess that’s probably why it looks so bad, like why they’re so angry.

“And I understand that. But then again, they make it seem worse than what it really is.”

To be sure, verbal commitments aren’t legally binding, and Wiggins began to waver last summer. UConn heard the rumor, a source confirmed.

The source said Wiggins and a UConn assistant happen to attend the same Hartford barber shop, and Wiggins asked through an intermediary if he could go to UConn, should he renege at St. John’s. The answer was no.

In September, Wiggins bumped into a UConn assistant at a football game. Same answer – no. In October, though, UConn broke ties with recruit Ramar Smith, and Wiggins again reportedly asked for a scholarship.

This time, the answer was yes.

East Hartford coach Menard said Wiggins “never” made overtures to UConn before withdrawing his commitment to St. John’s – even though numerous reports and The Post’s confirmation suggest otherwise.

A St. John’s official would not comment on Wiggins, saying only, “It is what it is.”

“It’s a decision he has to live with for the rest of his life,” Menard said. “If he has a great career and things go well basketball-wise and he graduates, then we’ll know it was the right thing to do. But no one has a crystal ball about what’s going to happen in the future.”

Wiggins feels he needs to improve his strength and decision-making on the court. For St. John’s, perhaps that’s the final, bitter irony.

“I’m not going to be a bust when I go to UConn,” Wiggins insisted. “Some people keep doubting me, my body, my size, whatever.

“Going through all this … it makes me feel like someone. So going to UConn and then being a failure, that would really bother me.”